Living in the Silence
by AquaTitaniaMiyuki
Summary: AU: Silence. That was all he ever heard, and it was all he ever spoke. Romeo's always been stuck in his own world of silence, until someone comes to lead him out. This is a story about friendship, believing, and finding your true self. RoWen, NaLu, GaLe. Cover art by janesmee.
1. The Starting Point

**Welcome to my new story**_**, Living in the Silence**_**. I hope you enjoy it!**

**By the way, I chose a theme song for this story (as I do for all my stories) and this time it's 'Skyscraper' by Demi Lovato. Now, I'm not crazy over Demi or anything, but I just LOVE this song! It's amazing, and it fits great with this story, you'll see.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail. That's Mashima's job.**

**Note: **_**this is someone writing. **_"This is someone talking." _'This is someone thinking.'_

* * *

_~Living in the Silence~_

_**Chapter 1**_

_~If everything you say gets laughed at…then you become afraid of everyone…and are no longer able to speak…even knowing all that does is bother everyone…your heart…shuts down…and your words die…" ~Natsuki Takaya, Fruits Basket, Vol. 5_

* * *

_13 years ago…_

"_You've done well, Miss."_

"_Where is he?"_

"_Well…the doctor was checking him over, and…"_

"_What?" _

"_What's wrong with our son, Nurse?"_

"…_I don't know how to put this…"_

"_Just tell us, please!"_

"_Your son is…Romeo is…"_

_._

_._

_._

_10 years ago…_

_**Romeo, this is Natsu.**_

_The three-year-old cocked his head to the side in confusion as to what his father told him, while the unfamiliar seven-year-old smiled and waved at the younger boy._

_**He's your big brother now.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_**.**_

_7 years ago…_

_Romeo stepped back when a boy his age waved his hand mockingly in front of his face._

"_Haha! What a weirdo!"_

"_He only notices when he sees your hand!"_

"_What about this?"_

_The boy shoved him to the ground, making Romeo's eyes stare up at him in shock._

"_He can't hear what we're saying, so we just have to show him!"_

"_Yeah! Hahahaha!"_

"_Hey!"_

_All the kids stiffened when they heard the rough voice from afar._

"_What are you doing to my brother, huh? !"_

_The kids scrambled inside, avoiding Natsu's so-called rage._

_The pink-haired boy knelt down beside Romeo as he took a notebook out of his pocket and started writing on it._

_**Are you okay?**_

_Romeo hesitated before writing something down as well._

_**Why don't they like me? **__was on the paper in messy penmanship._

_Natsu frowned and looked back at him as he read._

_**People think and do mean things sometimes. Don't mind them.**_

_The younger child nodded._

_._

_._

_._

_4 years ago…_

_**Natsu-nii…I don't think I'll make it in school…**_

_Natsu blinked, __**Why not?**_

_Romeo frowned as he wrote, __**Everyone's gonna bully me because you're not there anymore.**_

_**You'll have to stand up for yourself then.**_

_**I'm not sure how I can.**_

_Natsu put his hands on the boy's shoulders and gave him the famous grin that made his all the girls fall in love with him-or at least that's what he said._

_**You're gonna be fine.**_

_Then he was gone, off to high school. _

_Nothing went right without him. _

_After the first day, Natsu went to pick Romeo up from school. He was about to let him read a note when he was tackled by his little brother._

_If he could have asked what was wrong, he would have. But when the pink-haired teen felt tears on his t-shirt, he knew that everything had gone wrong for Romeo._

_He couldn't find the strength to write an apology._

_._

_._

_._

_Now…_

A now thirteen-year-old Romeo sat alone at the picnic table outside, reading his book. Suddenly, he felt something hit the side of his head. He gritted his teeth and grabbed his right temple while looking under the table to see what hit him. It was a small rock.

The purple-headed boy resisted the urge to attack the bullies as well, who were retreating behind the bushes-and went back to reading his book.

This happened almost every day to him at Magnolia Academy of Magic. The kids continued to physically hurt him, since verbal abuse wouldn't work. After that, he would have the urge to attack with magic, and that was never a good thing. But at some points, when the kids used their own magic, he had no chioce. And he ended up with the school counselor each time for 'help'.

So he buried himself in reading, drawing, and anything else you could do without hearing or talking.

Romeo sighed-not making a sound, of course. Oh how he wished he could be like his Natsu-nii…to be loud, talkative, encouraging, strong…all of which were impossible.

His only friends were Natsu-nii, and Cana, the odd fortune-teller girl who lived across the street and was addicted to alcohol. And from the looks of it, things were going to stay that way.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and saw the yard supervisor. Romeo closed his book and got up, knowing that he was being taken to the nurse for the scratch on the right side of his head, thanks to the rock from earlier.

That's another thing. Everyone treated him like a baby. Sure, he was-what everyone liked to call _disabled-_but that didn't mean he couldn't take care of himself!

Five minutes later, he walked into class and sat with all the other eighth graders. He found a note attached to his desk and read it:

_**Deaf and dumb! Haha!**_

After seeing the word 'deaf', Romeo crumpled up the note and shoved it in the empty desk beside his. He noticed how all the people around him perked up and shut their mouths once their teacher, Mr. Clive (Cana's father), walked into the room. But behind him, was a girl he had never seen before.

The tall and lean man began to write on the board.

_**Good morning, class. Today, as you can see, we have a new student.**_

Mr. Clive handed the chalk to Wendy. She wrote her own line underneath his.

_**I'm Wendy Marvell. I hope I can get along with everyone!**_

When she turned around and gave a sweet smile to the rest of the class, Romeo knew immediately that there was something odd about her. Usually, the new kid would be shaking like a leaf and slowly writing just their name on the board.

Romeo blinked when Mr. Clive pointed to him. Although, the thing that bewildered him was that Wendy was coming towards him. He looked to his right and saw the empty desk, and understood.

Wendy was going to be his seatmate.


	2. The Beginning of a Bond

_~Living in the Silence~_

_**Chapter 2**_

_~ "Silence is only frightening to people who are compulsively verbalizing." ~William S. Burroughs, The Job: Interviews with William S. Burroughs_

* * *

Romeo handed a pencil to the girl at his right, nodding as she wrote a thank you.

Wendy was a good person to sit beside, compared to the other seatmates he's had.

Well, okay, she hadn't 'said' anything to him before asking for an extra pencil, but it was a start. Honestly, Romeo had forgotten that she was there for the past 10 minutes. Though, her not-so-strong presence was _much_ better than those pestering kids who got moved after a while.

Soon, break time came. The purple-haired boy grabbed his book from his bag and headed out behind the rest of the class. Wendy stayed behind, finishing off a few notes.

Outside, Romeo read his book, like always. And another rock hit the other side of his head, like always.

He went through page 40 to 45 in two minutes, ignoring the throbbing in his temple. He had been gifted with being a fast reader, thanks to all the notes he's received. Unexpectedly, Romeo felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, thinking that it was the yard supervisor again, but was caught off guard by whom he saw instead.

His seatmate, Wendy Marvell.

The boy stared in bewilderment. No one ever came up to him. Yet, Wendy held out a note for him to read.

_**Hi, Romeo. **_

He blinked, before writing a response.

_**Are you here to 'help' me like the others?**_

She shook her dark-blue head, much to Romeo's confusion.

_**I want to be your friend.**_

His eyes widened. _Friend? She wanted to be his…friend?_

Hastily, Romeo jotted down a single word.

_**Why?**_

Wendy surprises him again by taking out the crumpled piece of paper he had shoved into her desk earlier.

'_Oh…I forgot about that…' _Romeo mused, _'Is she pitying me?'_

Surprising him for the umpteenth time, Wendy rips the paper in half.

_**I don't think there's anything wrong with you. You gave me a pencil, and even showed me where we were in each textbook. If everyone else thinks wrongly about you, then I don't think I'll fit in with them.**_

For one thing, Romeo is shocked. The hand holding the note shakes. Somebody wanted to be his friend. Someone didn't think bad about him. The realization to those two things almost brought tears to his eyes.

As if feeling the sun for the first time in his life, he smiled and gestured to the spot beside him for her to sit down. She smiled back, and took a seat. She also placed the notebook she had been writing in on the table.

_**Were you born deaf and mute, Romeo? **_She asked.

He replied, _**How did you know I was both? Usually people don't get that I'm mute too, because deaf people write or use sign language even if they can talk.**_

_**Mr. Clive told me.**_

Romeo made an 'o'. Of course Mr. Clive had told her. _**Yes. I was born with both.**_

Wendy wrote again, _**Why don't you use sign language?**_

_**I can, it's just that no one would understand it except my brother.**_

This time, it was Wendy's turn to make an 'o' with her mouth. _**Can you spell my name?**_

As an answer, Romeo signed out the five letters of her name. He watched as her eyes glowed in awe.

_**That's cool!**_

Suddenly, Wendy perked up, hearing the sound of the bell. She put her hand on Romeo's shoulder, and pointed to the doors. Romeo looked towards her finger, and nodded. They both got up and headed in.

Wendy stopped in front of their classroom, causing Romeo to stop behind her. She turned and placed her hands over both sides of his head. He took a step back, but Wendy took one forward.

In a matter of seconds, she put down her hands and pulled the bandage off of Romeo's right temple with a wink. She strolled into the classroom.

While all that was happening, Romeo's feet stuck to the floor, amazement spread all over his face.

'_What…was that?'_

* * *

The yard supervisor scratched the back of her head. Odd. Romeo wasn't at the picnic table. Perhaps he went in early for once…

* * *

_That afternoon…_

Romeo entered his house with a small grin on his face.

The rest of the day had rolled by quickly. Wendy had become his third official friend in a matter of minutes.

He was still surprised at how someone had actually wanted to be his friend.

'_It wasn't out of pity, or even to get close to Natsu-nii!'_

At the sudden thought of his brother, Romeo frowned. But then the grin slowly came back. Natsu wasn't coming back for a while, and he knew it, so there was no use sulking over it, especially when he had had such a great day.

Macao-his father-walked into the room and noticed the smile on his son's face. And he_ never_ smiled since his older brother had left.

_**Hey, son. You're happy today. Did something happen?**_

_**Yeah. I met a girl named Wendy. She sits beside me in class.**_

Macao grinned, _**That's great. Treat her well, okay?**_

_**Why wouldn't I? **_Romeo looked confused.

Macao just chuckled and left the room.

* * *

"I'm home!"

Wendy stepped inside her house and heard heavy footsteps coming down the stairs.

"Hey, kid." greeted her step-brother as he ruffled her hair with his calloused hands.

"Hi, Gajeel-nii."

"How's the new academy?"

A smile graced her face as she explained about Romeo.

"Romeo…" Gajeel narrowed his eyes as he said the name, "You mean the deaf-mute Romeo?"

Wendy tilted her head to the side, "Uh-huh. How do you know about him, Gajeel-nii?"

"He's Natsu's little brother."

* * *

**A/N: To everyone reading this out there, I am not a deaf-mute, nor do I know anyone who is a deaf-mute. I apologize if some information concerning deaf-mutes are wrong.**

**Please review, and I thank you all for the support!**


	3. The Partners

**Just wanna say thank you to the people who have faved, alerted, and reviewed this story so far! I really appreciate it!**

* * *

_~Living in the Silence~_

_**Chapter 3**_

_~ "I've begun to realize that you can listen to silence and learn from it. It has a quality and a dimension all its own."~Chaim Potok, The Chosen_

* * *

Romeo perked up as Wendy pushed his red spiral notebook into his line of sight.

_**So, Romeo…what do you do for fun? I'm just curious because I'm guessing there are limited options for you. No offense.**_

_**None taken. My brother and I usually find things to do together, like practice magic, play cards etc.**_

Wendy read it over and pounded her fist on her palm in remembrance, _**That reminds me, my brother Gajeel-nii told me that you were Natsu-san's brother!**_

Romeo gaped, _**You're Gajeel's little sister? !**_

_**Step-sister. Natsu-san and Gajeel-nii are good friends (?) and went to the same elementary school.**_

_**I know **_the purple headed teen recalled the times Natsu-as well as his father-would bring up Gajeel in the middle of a conversation with him, "_and let's not forget about her cute little sister!" __**But we ended up moving here before Natsu-nii started high school.**_

_**I think I remember you being at our school.**_

_**Me too, everything from before fourth grade is kind of blurry though.**_

_**Anyways **_Wendy skipped to a new line _**Back to your hobbies…**_

_**Oh right. **_ Romeo had completely forgotten about the topic of his hobbies in the first place.

He hesitated. What should he put?

_**Well, I **__**like to draw.**_

The boy looked up to see Wendy's eyes sparkling. Immediately, he knew what she wanted before she even wrote it down, so he wrote first.

_**Do you want me to draw you?**_

Wendy nodded in pleasure, and positioned herself by folding her hands in her lap and giving him a smile.

'_She looks pretty like that…' _Romeo mused, _'Wait, what am I thinking? Just start drawing already! Don't get distracted!'_

His hand began to move slowly, tracing the image of the girl's round face on the paper.

He didn't like to draw. He _loved_ to draw. It was something he was never ridiculed for; something that made him felt whole again after days of rocks hitting his head to the looks of sympathy he got from everyone.

A while later, Romeo sighed and looked over the portrait. It wasn't finished yet, of course, but Wendy looked like she was dying to see it. He handed the notebook to her, which she took gently into her hands.

Romeo watched the blue-haired girl stare at the page for a few minutes. Why wasn't she saying-_writing_-anything to him?

He frowned and shuffled uncomfortably in his spot. _What if she didn't like it?_

But his worries dissolved when he saw her flip the book around to show him something.

_**You have a gift.**_

_**You think so? **_Romeo wrote. He was pretty sure that if he could speak, he would have stuttered, _**It's just a few lines. It's not that great.**_

_**Says you **_she counters with a smile, _**I think it's beautiful. Thank you.**_

Romeo grins.

* * *

_**Alright, class. **_Mr. Clive smiled, _**Here comes your first project. **_

Whilst most of the other students groaned (Romeo knew by the look on Mr. Clive's face) both Romeo and Wendy perked up.

_**For Fiore History, you must create a **__**large**__** structure that dates back to the Great War of X337 to X360.**_

Two rows across from Romeo and Wendy, Chelia Blendy raised her hand. She spoke, and Romeo just stared at her moving jaw.

Chelia wasn't like the other kids either. Actually, she was a lot like Wendy. The only problem was that she was popular. She never had the chance to 'speak' to him without being whisked away by her group of friends.

The purple-headed boy refocused when Mr. Clive began to write on the board again, _**Very good question, Chelia. Yes, you **__**are allowed **__**to work in partners.**_

Subconsciously, Romeo's eyes drifted to his right, but he stopped.

Despite her popularity, Chelia seemed to have become friends with Wendy. The blue-haired girl had only arrived yesterday, yet they were already like best friends.

'_Maybe she'll be partners with Chelia.' _He thought. It wouldn't be that bad if she wasn't his partner. Just because she was the only one who truly talked to him, didn't mean that she had to be his partner for a project. Besides, Mr. Clive usually let him work alone on assignments and stuff, so he wouldn't have to be with some other snotty kid.

But…

It wouldn't be bad to look at her, right? He just wanted to see what she was thinking.

He slowly turned to his right and saw a bright, smiling face. And it wasn't directed at Chelia, Mr. Clive, or anyone or anything else.

It was for him.

Without wasting a second, Romeo nods.

Now they're seatmates, friends, _and _partners.

* * *

**A/N: Personally, I think Chelia is 14 or 15, but let's just pretend she's 12 or 13 for the sake of having more canon people in the class. XP**


	4. The Magic

**As you could see…I haven't updated in a while…sorry about that. School has been sucking up my writing time. Please don't be mad if I end up going on a short hiatus after this, okay?**

* * *

_~Living in the Silence~_

_**Chapter 4**_

_~ "The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them."~ Ernest Hemingway _

* * *

Wendy and Romeo strolled down the block together. In Romeo's arms was the half-built castle made from all sorts of supplies. It was their project for history. The boy had a tight grip around the base of the castle, not wanting to drop it, although he was still wondering why it was so heavy in the first place.

Wendy glanced at him in concern before taking out her own notebook from her pocket.

_**Are you sure you don't need help carrying that?**_

Romeo shook his head, being unable to use his hands at the moment. He wasn't supposed to let a lady carry heavy things. It was only being polite.

Reaching their destination, Romeo set the castle down at his feet and took a spare key out of his pocket. He opened the door with a click, picked up the castle, and stepped inside. With his head, he gestured for Wendy to come in.

Instantly, Macao stood in front of them, with a stern look on his face. He took out a piece of paper already prepared and gave it to Romeo.

_**I have a lady coming over tonight. **_

For a split second, Wendy saw a look of disgust on his face.

_**You can work on the project with Wendy upstairs. Please, **__**do not**__** mess this up for me. Understand?**_

Romeo nodded. Macao patted the boy's head and turned to Wendy.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Miss," Macao spoke, "Make yourself at home, but make sure you stay upstairs."

"Thank you." Wendy replied and bowed.

* * *

Once the two preteens got into Romeo's bedroom, the said boy ran to the window and opened it. He stared out at the front of his yard until Wendy took out her notebook.

_**Romeo, shouldn't we start working?**_

_**We will. **_he reassured her _**Just wait.**_

As if on cue, a woman dressed in the funkiest outfit on Earthland came strutting down the sidewalk. Romeo moved to the right of his window so he wouldn't be spotted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Wendy's mouth open, as if she was actually attempting to talk to him. Spur of the moment, probably.

He turned and put a finger to his lips (the universal sign for silence…something _everyone-_ not just the deaf mutes-knew). Wendy raised an eyebrow.

As the woman got closer to the door, Romeo created a yellow flame in his hand and leaned out of the window. Wendy stood behind him, unsure of what to do about the situation. What _was _he doing, anyway?

The thought vanished from her mind as she plugged her nose.

'_What is that smell? !' _Wendy almost coughed. She turned to Romeo, who was also plugging his nose from the horrid stench. Then she remembered the yellow flame he was using.

Wendy used her other hand to wave away the stench. At the same time, Romeo pulled himself back inside the room with a grin. Wendy raised an eyebrow again, and took her hand away from her nose.

Suddenly, Wendy heard a high shriek from outside and immediately ran past Romeo to peer out the window. She saw the lady, hands covering her face, running away.

The blue-haired girl turned to her companion, grabbing her notebook in the process, _**What did you do?**_

_**I used my yellow smelly flame to chase her away. **_Romeo wrote, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

_**Why?**_

The boy had a look of longing spread on his face, _**Natsu-nii and I used to chase off the women Dad has dates with.**_

Romeo went to sit on his bed. Wendy followed.

_**It was from when I thought our Mom would come home. It made me mad to see that Dad was trying to 'replace' her. **_

Wendy stared at him with concerned eyes, wanting to know more.

_**But Mom never came home.**_

There was a long pause, as Romeo stared off into the distance of nothingness. The girl just sat there patiently, waiting for him to continue.

_**I still don't like the idea of Dad seeing other women though.**_

Wendy nodded in understanding, carefully taking the pen from him, _**I didn't like it when my Mom went with other men either.**_

Romeo looked up from the page in surprise, and his ocean blue eyes locked with her hazel ones.

Wendy broke the gaze first by looking back down at the notebook.

_**My Mom divorced my Dad when I was 5. She went through a few men before meeting Gajeel-nii's Dad. **_

The dark-haired boy made an 'o' with his mouth while nodding slowly, _**So that's how Gajeel is your step-brother.**_

Wendy nodded back, _**I still use my Mom's last name, though. I'm technically Wendy Marvel-Redfox.**_

_**Even though you only go by Marvel?**_

_**It's easier that way.**_

_**Okay, that makes sense.**_

All of a sudden, a breeze came from the window, causing Wendy to shiver a little. Seeing this, Romeo got up and closed the window. Wendy smiled as a thank you as he sat back down.

There was another small pause before Wendy began writing again.

_**Doesn't your Dad get mad when you chase off his dates?**_

_**He does, believe me. **_Says Romeo, rolling his eyes, _**But it's not what you think. I already knew that someone was coming over before Dad told me.**_

_**How?**_

_**Whenever he brings me along somewhere, he leaves me for a while. Since I never have other things to do, I follow him and I see him flirting. **_

_**How did you know that the woman was going to come over later?**_

_**The first few times, Natsu-nii had to tell me. But after a while, I could figure out by just watching.**_

_**Oh okay.**_

They paused for the third time. But it was broken much faster than the other two.

Romeo stood up abruptly, taking the notebook out of Wendy's hands while slowly backing away. Wendy cocked her head to the side in confusion. She got up to walk towards him, but he took a step back, shaking his head.

She took a step back as well, surprised. _'What happened? I didn't say anything wrong, did I? Why did he take the book away?'_

Wendy stared at him, wondering how she could reach him without words-neither spoken nor written. She locked eyes with him once again, searching for an answer.

Slowly, she smiled and put her hands behind her back.

Romeo's grip on the notebook loosened a little as he stared back at her smiling face. Carefully, he wrote on the page.

_**I shouldn't have told you things about me. Even my hobbies.**_

If she could have, Wendy would have asked why.

As if reading her mind, Romeo continued.

Her eyes widened.

_**You're going to hurt me.**_

Wendy released a breath she didn't know she was holding. She understood now. Luckily, Romeo reached out to pass the notebook to her.

She took the opportunity.

_**I'm not going to hurt you, Romeo. Why would I?**_

The boy hesitated before writing a response.

_**I've done it before. I made friends. Or at least I thought I did. When I told them stuff about me, they hurt me.**_

Wendy frowned.

_**I'm sorry. You don't deserve to be treated like that.**_

_**Do you really mean that? Or are you just pitying me?**_

_**Of course I mean that! **_Wendy smiled _**I know we haven't known each other long, but I like you, Romeo. You're my friend.**_

She looked up to see a tear slowly escaping through his right eye as he read. Though, he quickly wiped it with the back of his hand.

With the faintest of smiles set on his face, he wrote:

_**Let's get working on that castle!**_

Wendy smiled once again. She had gotten through to him.


	5. The Wait and Work

**(Today is the Vow of ****Silence****.)**

**Short note: I'm sorry for not updating sooner. I have this whole story planned out, from beginning to end. I just need to get it in story form instead of just notes.**

**Enjoy.**

* * *

_~Living in the Silence~_

_**Chapter 5**_

_~ "He was a mystery to her, and every time she tried to solve him it caused her a little more pain. But when she tired to give him up he pursued her in her thoughts, stronger each time." ~Anna Godberson, Envy_

* * *

Romeo stood by the edge of the sea on the sand, sullenly staring at the horizon ahead of him. The wind blew through his hair, tickling the sides of his face. A blue-haired girl slowly strolled up to his side, looking at him concernedly.

_**Romeo? **_

He turned as the paper fell into his hand, and cocked his head to the side, acknowledging her.

Wendy pushed a strand of hair back, to keep it out of the wind. They had been standing here for a little while, since Romeo told her that he was making a detour on the way to Wendy's home,_** You okay?**_

_**Yeah. **_He wrote back, shifting a little to turn in her direction, _**This place is a lot like my hometown. I like to come here to think. Ever since Natsu-nii left for his trip. **_

_**Where did he go anyway?**_

_**To some place called Acalypha with his girlfriend. He's been away for a while.**_

_**Oh. **_Was all Wendy wrote. But she was glad that he wasn't worrying about something serious, _**We should get going, Romeo. We have to do that project. **_

_**Right. Come on.**_

* * *

_**So you're Romeo! It's so nice to meet you!**_

_**Nice to meet you too, Mrs. Marvell. **_Romeo wrote after shaking her hand.

_**Just call me Grandine. **_The blue-haired woman smiled an all-too familiar smile, _**Wendy's told me about you! You seem like a nice boy. **_

Suddenly, a youth with a long, black mane stalked into the room holding a can of coke wearing nothing but boxers and a black shirt. He eyed the boy suspiciously with dark red eyes and pointed at him. "Who's this kid?"

The way he looked at him made Romeo freeze up. He vaguely remembered Gajeel from his early years back at Hargeon Mages Academy. Gajeel was well-known as the school's delinquent, as well as the scariest-looking student, having piercings on his face and a scowl engraved on his mouth. He also happened to be a good friend of his brother.

Grandine's smile didn't falter in the slightest, "This is Romeo, Gajeel. Natsu's younger brother?"

It all seemed to click for Gajeel at that moment. In his head, the image of a scared little boy hiding behind his older brother entered his mind. "Oh. What's he doin' here?"

Wendy finally piped up, "We're working on a project."

Her brother raised a pierced brow, "Together."

"Uh-huh."

He said nothing after that. He just turned to face Romeo, made a gesture for 'I'm watching you' and made his way down to the basement.

Silence filled the room, before Wendy got the pencil from her mother's hand to write to a confused Romeo.

_**Don't worry about him. He won't do anything to you. **_

The dark-haired boy 'laughed' uneasily, _**Yeah…I think Natsu-nii would beat him up if he did.**_

_**I'll get the supplies for the project. **_She said with a grin, as she zipped up the stairs to her room.

Grandine smiled warmly, patted Romeo on the shoulder, and wrote. _**Thank you for being so kind to Wendy. She's always been so shy back at Hargeon. It's so hard for her to talk to people.**_

He smiled at the woman, _**It's pretty hard for me too.**_

They both shared a small laugh, before the blue-haired girl made it back down, holding some supplies. She gestured for Romeo to go to the livingroom. He nodded and picked up the castle to follow her.

Once they settled, Romeo pulled out his notepad again, _**Your mom is so nice.**_

_**Yeah. She's always taking care of me, even if I didn't like it when she dated different men.**_

_**That's nice. **_Romeo wrote with a pang of envy. If only _his_ mother was like that…

He pushed his feelings aside to focus on the task at hand. There was no need to get riled up about her…

_**Where should we put this?**_

…

* * *

_**It's finally done! **_Wendy clapped excitedly, admiring the work put into it.

Romeo nodded, relieved that it was finally done. _**It looks great. You did a good job making this, Wendy.**_

_**It was a team effort, Romeo. We make a great team.**_

_**Sure do. **_He smiled again, _'I've been smiling so much today…weird.'_

* * *

Romeo stepped into his house after being dropped off by Grandine ("because, heavens forsake, we can't have a deaf-mute going around alone in the night"), and wiped his shoes against the carpet before going in. He was about to head to the kitchen to make himself a snack, when his father appeared from the said place, grinning.

_**Son, I have some great news.**_

Romeo perked up, _**Really? What?**_

Macao's grin extended to fill his whole face, _**Natsu's coming home tomorrow.**_

And the boy smiled once more.


End file.
